‘Pavlok’ SmartTech Bracelet Stops Bad Habits With Electric Shocks

Studies suggest that it takes 21 days to make or break habits. The truth is, it’s not the longevity that most people struggle with — it’s the consistency. Enter Pavlok, a wearable tech that uses aversive conditioning — a kind of negative reinforcement — to keep you from your bad habits is now available in Amazon.

How does it work?

Pavlok is made of two parts: a one-size-fits-all wristband and an app that is available in Android and iOS. The band uses electric shocks, ranging from low to high setting, to enforce negative stimuli when you engage in your bad habits. It is the digital form of snapping your wrist with a rubber band when you bite your nails or sneak a quick cigarette break.

According to its Amazon webpage, Pavlok has sold more than 50,000 units since its official launch in 2015. Behavioral Technology Group Inc., the company responsible for the product, has since released two versions of Pavlok. It has also released a new product called Shock Clock, an alarm clock that zaps its user awake.

History of Pavlok

Maneesh Sethi, the CEO, and founder of Behavioral Technology Group, Inc. claims to have the idea for Pavlok when he created an experiment back in 2014. He shared in a blog post that he hired a girl from Craiglist to slap him whenever he went on Facebook. Based on his experiment, he increased his productivity and concluded that aversive conditioning worked for him.

In 2014, Sethi put up Pavlok on crowdfunding website Indiegogo to create their initial prototype. It targeted to get funding of $50,000 and walked away with more than $250,000 with a total of 1,763 backers.

Despite success in crowdfunding, Pavlok’s popularity soared only on May 20, 2016, when it was featured on the last episode of Shark Tank‘s season 7. Sethi refused Kevin O’ Leary’s offer because he doesn’t want to work with him. Even though Sethi’s venture on the popular hit show was amiss, he continued working on his digital aversive conditioning technique.

Mixed Reviews

Users on Amazon and blogs have mixed reviews with this unconventional wearable tech. Testimonials are available on Pavlok’s website, boasting success on breaking bad habits like nail biting, stopping cookie addiction, and eating too many sugary snacks.

While others swear by the results, others felt that Pavlok’s expectations fell short. With Pavlok 1, users have to manually zap themselves when they engage in a bad habit. Users reported that after some time, they learned to ignore the electric shocks or forget to zap themselves.

As an improvement, Pavlok included a feature which would allow your friends to zap you when they caught you red-handed. Aside from that, they integrated an IFTTT feature, which would allow users to input conditions for when they will receive their shocks. For example, if you are trying to remove your nail biting habit, you can simply input Pavlok to zap you when you lift your hand to your mouth. Of course, it only works when you use the hand which has the Pavlok device.

Future of Wearable Tech

Pavlok is just one of the hundreds of wearable tech designed to improve users’ quality of life. Apple is set to release Apple Watch OS 6, which includes a menstrual cycle tracker. It is a much-awaited update after the launching of Apple Watch Series 4 last September 2018.

Starkey, a company focused on producing hearing aids, launched Livio AI last year as well. It is a hearing aid marketed for people who do not need any hearing aids. It features integrated sensors to detect noisy environments and lessen them, thereby reducing the user’s exposure to noise pollution. It also boasts an almost perfect language translation app that lets you understand 27 languages.

With the rise in popularity of these products, wearable tech has a bright future.